I’d like to start this article by stating that I don’t necessarily label myself, such as a feminist. Fighting for your rights doesn’t automatically make you an -ist. I am simply a human. And I happen to be a woman.

We might believe that the patriarchal system has already disappeared and that women have all the rights they need. While women may have gained rights they didn’t have before, let’s take a moment to thank the courageous women who stood firm on the streets, fighting for these rights throughout history.

However, having more rights doesn’t necessarily mean having the same privileges. Privileges are the result of a system that has lasted for centuries. Just as Europeans living in former colonial countries still benefit from certain privileges stemming from colonization, modern men and women also experience disparities. In France, for instance, women statistically earn less money than men for the same job position. Additionally, despite France being the country with the most Nobel Prizes won in literature, only one woman has won the prize, as of 2022.

P.S. You might want to read this

https://langlittravel.wordpress.com/2020/08/04/7-inspiring-female-authors-from-around-the-world

Personally, I come from a society that is slowly shedding its patriarchal norms, yet completely eradicating them seems impossible as they have already shaped generations. I recall my grandmother telling me it was normal for a man to hit a woman, and that she should remain silent when he’s angry. “He hit me once,” she said, “but I deserved it.”

Recently, a girl approached me at work and confessed that her boyfriend had hit her. She justified his actions by saying he was angry. It’s unsettling how, in the 21st century, the discourse remains eerily similar to that of past generations.

Dear women, remember this: Under no circumstance do you deserve to be hit or insulted. Yet, in cases like these, men, even unconsciously influenced by societal norms, leverage their perceived superiority, whether physical or social, to treat women as objects.

Why do we have only one Women’s Day? Why give a woman a flower today, yet use social privileges against her on other days? “Women have all the rights, what more are they asking for?” some men might say. “Women have more rights than men nowadays,” others argue. Next time you tell yourself this, remember the painful statistics that hide the faces of real people. Think of the girl who confided in me about her abusive relationship. Think of my grandmother, who still believes men have the right and power over women. Consider the woman who is underpaid, undervalued, and sexualized at work.

If you need only one reason to respect women today, think of the woman who carried you for nine months in her belly. Consider the sleepless nights she endured to care for you and shape you into the person you’ve become.

If not addressed in time, these issues become the tumors of our society. We still have a long fight ahead of us, women and men. And it’s something so simple, requiring no buzz, protests, guns, or flowers—just some common sense. Common sense, we desperately need you today.

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